Methods and systems for detecting data container modification

Abstract

Methods and system for determining if a data container has been modified are provided. A first data container signature and a second data signature are generated by a storage operating system based on metadata information for the data container. The second data container signature is compared with the first data container signature to determine if the data container has been modified since the first data container signature was generated.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A machine implemented method, comprising:
 generating a first data container signature and a second data container signature by a storage operating system based on metadata information of the data container; and   comparing the second data container signature with the first data container signature to determine if the data container has been modified since the first data container signature was generated.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a processor executing an application out of a memory requests the first data container signature and the second data container signature from the storage operating system. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the application compares the first data container signature and the second data container signature to determine if the data container has been modified. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the storage operating system compares the first data signature and the second data signature to determine if the data container was modified and notifies the application that the data container has been modified. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metadata information used for generating the first data signature includes a data container size. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metadata information used for generating the first data signature includes an inode generation number that is generated when an inode is created for storing the metadata information for the data container. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metadata information of the data container used for generating the first data signature includes a virtual volume block number (VVBN) that identifies a block within a logical address space for storing the data container at a physical storage location. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data container is a file. 
     
     
         9 . A non-transitory, machine readable storage medium storing executable instructions, which when executed by a machine, causes the machine to perform a method, the method comprising
 generating a first data container signature and a second data container signature by a storage operating system based on metadata information of the data container; and   comparing the second data container signature with the first data container signature to determine if the data container has been modified since the first data container signature was generated.   
     
     
         10 . The storage medium of  claim 9 , wherein a processor executing an application out of a memory requests the first data container signature and the second data container signature from the storage operating system. 
     
     
         11 . The storage medium of  claim 10 , wherein the application compares the first data container signature and the second data container signature to determine if the data container has been modified. 
     
     
         12 . The storage medium of  claim 10 , wherein the storage operating system compares the first data signature and the second data signature to determine if the data container was modified and notifies the application that the data container has been modified. 
     
     
         13 . The storage medium of  claim 9 , wherein the metadata information used for generating the first data signature includes a data container size. 
     
     
         14 . The storage medium of  claim 9 , wherein the metadata information used for generating the first data signature includes an inode generation number that is generated when an inode is created for storing the metadata information for the data container. 
     
     
         15 . The storage medium of  claim 9 , wherein the metadata information of the data container used for generating the first data signature includes a virtual volume block number (VVBN) that identifies a block within a logical address space for storing the data container at a physical storage location. 
     
     
         16 . The storage medium of  claim 9 , wherein the data container is a file. 
     
     
         17 . A system, comprising:
 a processor executing instructions out of a memory for:   generating a first data container signature and a second data container signature based on metadata information for the data container, wherein the second data container signature is compared with the first data container signature to determine if the data container has been modified since the first data container signature was generated.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the metadata information used for generating the first data signature includes a data container size. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the metadata information of the data container used for generating the first data signature includes a virtual volume block number (VVBN) that identifies a block within a logical address space for storing the data container at a physical storage location. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the data container is a file.